Rodents!

[Devoredude]

Can't believe the damage in a few days. We just bought this wonderful Class A a year ago and today I saw insulation sticking out of the access doors for the fridge. Holy cow, opened this up, went in the motorhome, mouse dropping on the floor. Vents in the dash are chewed to hell, and there was black insulation on the ground under the engine when I moved it back. They chewed through the foam insulation in the firewall where the heat/ac ducts go through. We had a Class C parked here for 10 years and NEVER had mice. Destructive bas$#%ds.

I sealed up the firewall area with high density foam and silocone glue (this is what I have on hand) and I put two snap traps inside on the floor, put a jar lid with Talon-G in the outside fridge panel and another in the engine compartment.

When camping, I've seen rigs with white powder all around their camper, is this for rodents? Any advice besides a CAT would be great. (Cats last about a week in my area).

Thanks.

[TexasH]

We do a stint with the Forest Service every year. Last year, the mice were everywhere. This year, we put Fresh Cab Repellant in and under the interior cabinets, and Tom Cat Bait Chunks in the compartments and under the hood. No problems at all. I also use the bait chunks around the garage where we store the coach and under hood when it's parked there. It's worked so far.

P.S. Don't put the bait and the repellent in the same areas. The bait has an attractant in it and will draw the mice to it.

[Tvov]

Billinwoodland wrote:

Tvov wrote:
The Decon bait/poison is very mild. I had a pest control guy tell me not to bother with it, but to buy "One Bite" bait and especially "Ramik" bait. This is the stuff that makes the critters thirsty so they will leave to find water (most of the time) before dying. ...

The active ingrediant in one bite is bromethalin. Should your pet ingest it or a poisoned mouse, there is no antidote. At least with the anticoagulant poisons, like dcon, there is a common antidote available should your pet ingest it.

I understand the dangers of using bait, I don't want my pets ingesting ANY poison, mild or strong, antidote or not. All poison should be placed where "good" animals can't get to it. "Bait Containers" are rather common and can be purchased (usually) wherever poison bait is sold. As to ingesting a poisoned mouse... my understanding is that by the time a mouse would be ingested by another animal, the amount of bait the mouse has eaten is small to begin with, and the small amount of bait has been greatly reduced in effectiveness by ingestion by the mouse.

There are dangers to everything. Understand how the product works that you are thinking of using and use it according to directions. You can always do something else if you are not comfortable with it.

[Billinwoodland]

Tvov wrote:
The Decon bait/poison is very mild. I had a pest control guy tell me not to bother with it, but to buy "One Bite" bait and especially "Ramik" bait. This is the stuff that makes the critters thirsty so they will leave to find water (most of the time) before dying.

I use Moth balls... OUTSIDE the camper, wherever anything touches the ground - around the wheels and the tongue jack. I use dryer sheets and Irish Spring soap inside -- not sure if it bothers the mice, but the dryer sheets help to absorb moisture and the soap makes the camper smell good in the spring.

Personally I don't like the glue traps. You end up having half alive animals that you have to dispose of. Glue traps work and do the job, just be aware of what you may have to deal with. Traditional snap traps are quick and effective.

The active ingrediant in one bite is bromethalin. Should your pet ingest it or a poisoned mouse, there is no antidote. At least with the anticoagulant poisons, like dcon, there is a common antidote available should your pet ingest it.

[Bucky1320]

Be careful with the poison, as you don't want pets getting into it.

[turbojimmy]

427435 wrote:
I think he was trying to sell you something.

I've scattered about 10 packs of Dcon around my shed each fall for years (live in the country so lots of mice). No damage to either the boat or MH----------and no dead remains either.

Not to digress too far, but....

I have a herd of chipmunks in my shed. DCon work on them, too? My pool only drowned 6 of them this season.

[427435]

Tvov wrote:
The Decon bait/poison is very mild. I had a pest control guy tell me not to bother with it, but to buy "One Bite" bait and especially "Ramik" bait. This is the stuff that makes the critters thirsty so they will leave to find water (most of the time) before dying.

I use Moth balls... OUTSIDE the camper, wherever anything touches the ground - around the wheels and the tongue jack. I use dryer sheets and Irish Spring soap inside -- not sure if it bothers the mice, but the dryer sheets help to absorb moisture and the soap makes the camper smell good in the spring.

Personally I don't like the glue traps. You end up having half alive animals that you have to dispose of. Glue traps work and do the job, just be aware of what you may have to deal with. Traditional snap traps are quick and effective.

I think he was trying to sell you something.

I've scattered about 10 packs of Dcon around my shed each fall for years (live in the country so lots of mice). No damage to either the boat or MH----------and no dead remains either.

[hoopers]

Just a quick sidenote to this...

my experience (I think I have read this also) is that DCON only lasts about 3 months after it has been opened. It is still poisonous, but the attractive scent dissipates after a period of time, and no longer attracts vermin. So I always replace mine after a few months. Without the scent, DCON loses its effectiveness.

[turbojimmy]

I had a horrible infestation in my house 2 years ago and used D-Con. It got rid of them that year, and they didn't come back last year. I did find corpses in the wall when I remodeled my family room. They were using holes cut for speaker wires as their own Habitrail (the boob that owned the house before me cut 1" holes for 14-gauge speaker wire through all the studs along the back wall). Even if one does happen to die in the wall, they're too small to smell unless it's right under your nose.


My RV had been sitting for a while and clearly had something big living under the bed in the back. It/they had chewed a 2' x 1' hole through the paneling and insulation. It did not look fresh, however. I found D-Con sprinkled around. All last winter I saw no evidence of any rodents returning (though I did spend a lot of time in there working on the engine - maybe that spooks them?).

How long does the rig have to sit before being invaded? What if I move it around the driveway once a week or so?

[Tvov]

The Decon bait/poison is very mild. I had a pest control guy tell me not to bother with it, but to buy "One Bite" bait and especially "Ramik" bait. This is the stuff that makes the critters thirsty so they will leave to find water (most of the time) before dying.

I use Moth balls... OUTSIDE the camper, wherever anything touches the ground - around the wheels and the tongue jack. I use dryer sheets and Irish Spring soap inside -- not sure if it bothers the mice, but the dryer sheets help to absorb moisture and the soap makes the camper smell good in the spring.

Personally I don't like the glue traps. You end up having half alive animals that you have to dispose of. Glue traps work and do the job, just be aware of what you may have to deal with. Traditional snap traps are quick and effective.

[rgatijnet1]

Billinwoodland wrote:
When in storage, encircle each wheel with metal duct bought at Home Depot. The mice can not climb over it. Make sure there aren't any lines extending down to ground level that they can climb on.

This may work for mice and rats, but a squirrel can jump from the ground right up to the coach without having to climb up the wheel.

[Billinwoodland]

When in storage, encircle each wheel with metal duct bought at Home Depot. The mice can not climb over it. Make sure there aren't any lines extending down to ground level that they can climb on.

[Tinstar]

Are you sure those in the bays, genset area and other outside accessible area are mice. My wires were chewed by squirrels. I've been putting out poison but I still fine evidence of them. :M

[cdl2]

I use D Con year round.....try & kill as many as I can.
And now I have chip monks.....

[Mr_Mark1]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
At many hunting supply stores you can order urine from various predators that your local rodents don't like. This may be fox, coyote, or whatever is around your area. A few light sprays around the wheels of your coach will keep the rodents away for months. The urine is not very expensive, not harmful to any animals, and it beats dealing with a trap. It only takes a little bit to spread the odor around day and night so that the mice/rats/squirrels will go elsewhere.

I don't mean to gross anyone out but coyote urine was suggested to keep the rabbits out of my beautiful bed of petunia's. They would eat all the blooms! My landscape architect told me, 'save your money, go out and tinkle on them yourself' (at night of course! LOL!). Worked like a charm, I had the most beautiful bed of petunia's for quite sometime!

MM.